Create the perfect Cotswold garden

A hidden delight of a garden in the grounds of a secluded, Grade-I listed Cotswolds manor house is a treasure trove of hanging woodland, grassy riverside glades, crisp topiary and informal wildflower plantings.

The garden in brief

What Private garden. Where Gloucestershire. Size Four acres. Soil Stony, thin and free-draining. Climate Warm summers and cool winters. Hardiness Zone USDA 8.

Tucked away deep in the Cotswolds, this ancient manor house of many gables has nestled beside the River Coln since the late 16th century, when it was built by a wealthy wool merchant. The best view, of rolling lawn and ribbons of planting easing their way down to the riverside, can be had from the sunny, south- facing, reclaimed York stone terrace by the house.

The summer house

Across the fast-flowing water, on the opposite bank, stands a stately stone summerhouse with a tented hip roof. It was built exactly in line with the door of the house and acts as a focal point at the end of the garden, as well as a good place to enjoy summer garden parties. A high ridge rears up behind it, creating a steep woodland that encloses the garden.

It is on this far bank of the river that the summerhouse terrace gives way to a series of groves and copses, with vast swathes of spring-flowering bulbs lighting up the shade under the trees. There is a tapestry of snowdrops and winter aconites (Eranthis hyemalis) to start the year, followed by broad drifts of common primroses and striped squill (Puschkinia scilloides), and then a carpet of pheasant’s eye daffodils. Snake’s head fritillaries (Fritillaria meleagris), and countless tulips in shades of cream, pink and maroon, jostle under specimen acers and blossoming cherry trees.

The garden

The naturalised schemes are what successfully link the more formal elements of the garden near the house to the surrounding land, blending the edges of the contrasting areas, from the cultivated borders and formal lawn to the wilder riverside and woodland. As you make your way around, you find unexpected spaces to explore and surprises round every corner, through gates or sheltering beyond shrubby camouflage: a secret, traditional walled garden with an oak pergola harbouring a dramatic, sunken quatrefoil at its centre; a circular garden ringed with low yew hedging, featuring a pink granite memorial surrounded by a sea of white iris; a small wooden bridge over the water leading to a floating ‘barge’ bog garden. Overall, this is a masterclass in design and planting to create delight in all who tread its path.

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© Jason Ingram

12 Spring Plants To Try

A creamy-coloured base to the bowl-shaped flowers flushes to a rosy-pink at the top, with a rich raspberry tint inside. Strong stems are good for cut flowers. 35cm. RHS H6†.

Chequered maroon-and-pink, bell-shaped flowers dangle from fine stems. Prefers moist, rich soils where it will self-seed. 30cm. AGM*. RHS H5, USDA 3a-8b.

Frothy, fringed tulip in white blending to rose-pink up the petals. 50cm. AGM. RHS H6.

Our native oxlip with a rosette of oblong leaves and a flower stem topped by a whorl of flowers in creamy yellow with a darker yellow eye. Prefers damper conditions. 30cm. AGM. RHS H6.

Small tree with slender, arching branches adorned with early white, star-shaped blossom that opens just ahead of the coppery-pink young leaves. 10m. AGM. RHS H7, USDA 4a-8b.

Tulipa ‘Black Parrot’. Glamorous, parrot-type tulip with fringed petals in almost-black. 50cm. AGM. RHS H6.

The striped squill is an early spring delight with pretty, palest-blue, star-shaped flowers, each with a darker-blue central stripe. Best grown in drifts under deciduous trees or in a border. 10cm. RHS H6, USDA 4a-8b.

Lovely choice of crab apple with showy, red-pink blossom in spring, and added bonus of good autumn leaf colour and reddish-yellow fruits. 7m. RHS H6.

Clump-forming grape hyacinth with tight clusters of bell-shaped flowers in dark blue edged in white. 15cm. RHS H6,

Lily-flowering tulip with small flowers on tall stems in soft pink, graduating to a darker pink in the centre of each petal. Complemented by greyish foliage. 50cm. AGM. RHS H6.

Deciduous shrub with arching sprays covered in clusters of white flowers and fresh-green leaves. 2.5m. AGM. RHS H6.

*Holds an Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society. †Hardiness ratings given where available.